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Nick Clegg Challenges David Cameron And Eurosceptics

Nick Clegg

The Huffington Post UK   First Posted: 30/10/11 15:07 GMT Updated: 30/10/11 15:15 GMT

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The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, writing in Sunday's Observer, has fiercely rebuked Conservative Eurosceptics.

Clegg has staked out his position opposing the Conservative right by insisting that the coalition will not be taking back powers from Brussels. He warned it would be "economic suicide" for Britain to "retreat to the margins" of Europe.

The strident article raises the prospect that Britain's relationship with Europe could prove to be a dangerous sticking point within the coalition, with most Lib Dems being pro-European and the right-wing of the Conservative Party being historically Europsceptic.

Clegg fears that this is entirely the wrong time to be debating EU membership. When we should be focused on economic growth, he explains, "tampering with the EU's founding texts" would open a "Pandora's Box". Europe, instead of strengthening its economic position in the wake of the Eurozone crisis would be left "paralysed by ideological battles, institutional navel-gazing and special demands from every member state".

Clegg's forthright article comes as Mr Cameron has faced a fraught week in parliament with rebellious Conservative MPs over Europe. 81 of them defied a three-line whip last week last week in order to support a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.

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The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, writing in Sunday's Observer, has fiercely rebuked Conservative Eurosceptics. Clegg has staked out his position opposing the Conservative right by insisting t...
The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, writing in Sunday's Observer, has fiercely rebuked Conservative Eurosceptics. Clegg has staked out his position opposing the Conservative right by insisting t...
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TheHub
30 Fans
 
11:52 PM on 10/30/2011
"Nick Clegg Challenges David Cameron And Eurosceptics " .... but does it very quietly, so Big Bad Dave doesn't hear !!!!!
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Sickofpoliticians2
243 Fans
07:18 PM on 10/30/2011
They won't let us vote because they know we'll leave and that isn't in their best interests, not the peoples but the politicians, they know that to grow the economy would mean investment in new factories, they know they'd have to renationalize power and utilities companies which presently are owned abroad, they know they'd have to regulate the finance industry as we couldn't have the clowns playing monopoly with the publics money. These reasons could be debatable as I'm no expert, but after the initial con of the seventies to get us to join the bigger con now are the promise of referendum on the run up to election to win votes, Tories succeeded this time, Labour lied about it the time before so it look like a game of pass the parcel between the two. Britain wants out so the only reason for keeping us in as far as I can see has to be gains financially for those we should be able to trust, but time and time again they prove to be untrustworthy, lying, thieves only interested in filling their pockets from the trough of Europe.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
blackraisin
Life, Liberty, Property.
1119 Fans
06:27 PM on 10/30/2011
Why didn't you ever let the Britons vote on EU Membership?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Blockem1
When will our politicians start putting policies
195 Fans
 
06:14 PM on 10/30/2011
The man is lost in wonderland , just have to look at the results of polices adopted by the EU , shall i run through them for you , massive corruption , unbelievable debt, countries brought to the economic knees, higher taxation, unemployment , libraries of legislation and the removal of sovereign powers with the widening of the gap between rich and poor. Pandora's box was opened some time ago Nick , its time to close it for good and get the hell out !
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Michael II
Neither the one, nor the only
254 Fans
06:28 AM on 10/31/2011
Since when does the EU raise taxes? Also, take your list and run the US through the filter. What do you see? How about North Africa? India?

There's a global crisis rolling across the planet. Greece and Ireland are not in their current position because of EU policies, but because of successive disastrous sovereign choices made over a number of decades.
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Orthrus
72 Fans
08:53 AM on 10/31/2011
Quote: "massive corruption , unbelievab­le debt, countries brought to the economic knees, higher taxation, unemployme­nt , libraries of legislatio­n ........ with the widening of the gap between rich and poor."

You've just described the UK under Labour!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
meade
1410 Fans
 
05:01 PM on 10/30/2011
Bush had his poodle (Blair), and we know Cameron has Clegg on an even shorter leash. What a way to sell out your party and it's supporters. Guess having the illusion of a bit of power is better to Clegg than actually fighting to get some real power.
Shame.
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HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Lawyer13
retired Lawyer, General and Psychiatric Nurse, wit
8283 Fans
 
04:54 PM on 10/30/2011
I will give Nick Clegg a tip for free, if your Party were less in favour of Europe you might do better at the next election, don't you realise that the country wants it's say on the EU, I suspect you like so many of our MP's don't listern to the views of those who elect you.
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Dunnemarogra
105 Fans
 
04:16 PM on 10/30/2011
Rubbish. Economic and Political Power needs to be 100% brought back to London.
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David von Geyer
72 Fans
03:48 PM on 10/30/2011
Clegg's right to rebuke the Eurosceptic Tories, but his comment that leaving the EU would result in economic suicide is laughable - as if nobody would want to sell stuff to 60 million people or buy anything from us. Keeping the coalition in power is causing massive damage to the UK economy so if he's got any real concern then he should do the decent by leaving so we can have an election. Of course, nobody would vote LibDem again so he'd be committing political suicide. Maybe he should just commit suicide - this song I recorded over 6 months ago still says it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHqNJ6s6p_w
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gregoryenelson
53 Fans
06:46 PM on 10/30/2011
I dont think anybody can deny that we have been living on borrowed money for a long time and it has got to stop. We cant keep on borrowing forever. It is Labour who are being dishonest - at the election they agreed that we had to cut, and now they are pretending that we can cut but just not yet.

I find it goes against the grain to agree with the conservatives, but that is what Labour always say - now that we are in a recession we cannot afford to cut but must spend , when Brown was Chancellor/PM it was also the time to spend - it is never the timer to get serious.

Labour, out of office, are being just as irresponsible as the Lib Dems could afford to be when THEY were out of office.
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writeangle
8 Fans
03:22 PM on 10/30/2011
How is Clegg so sure the the EU has a way out of its permanently low growth and attendant high debts? You would need a miracle to make some of the PIIGS into high growth economies,even if they were not in the zone. Some analysts see the EU as being low growth for at least a decade. If so the EU will not solve any of our economic problems. It will be then increasingly dragged down economically by the combination of aging demographics where a booming retired population has to be supported by a declining working force. Add to this the huge costs of the EU social security and pensions systems and you have a recipe for future debts well over 150% GDP and continually increasing.
If Clegg knows of an alternative rosy financial future for the EU perhaps he could enlighten us all as to how this will come about in the face low growth, massive debts that will take decades to pay thus decreasing investment and combined with aging demographics.
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Michael II
Neither the one, nor the only
254 Fans
06:35 AM on 10/31/2011
Unless I'm mistaken, the EU has no say in member state pensions. You'll find huge differences between Greece, Belgium, the UK and Germany.

I'm curious to see how repatriating anything will solve any of the problems you point to without removing huge layers of social security, effectively putting UK workers on a level with those of China. That's one experiment I would not like to take part in.
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